The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time turns 25

Time to break out that ocarina you bought at the ren faire back in high school.

Image: Nintendo / The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

If you weren’t feeling your bones enough, today marks the 25th anniversary of the Japanese release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Known for being one of the most iconic and highest-regarded Zelda games to date, Ocarina of Time set into motion a ton of lore and timelines that became a foundation of what we expect from the franchise to this day.

While the title came out for the Nintendo 64 on November 21st, 1998 in Japan, we didn’t see it in the US until 2 days later on the 23rd. So, consider the entire rest of the week as a celebration as you eat turkey and solve temple puzzles.

As fans are aware, the game wasn’t only on the N64. It’s had multiple iterations, such as being available on the now-defunct Nintendo Wii Virtual Console and (my favorite) as the bundle with the lost Master Quest (or Ura Zelda in Japan) version for the Gamecube.

If you’re wondering what you can do with your 3DS now that the eShop is closed down, the answer is that you can grab Ocarina of Time to play offline. You can find the physical 3DS version over on Amazon for around $40.

To this day, the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time still is on Metacritic at a whopping 99 out of 100, with all other versions sitting in the 90s as well.

Needless to say, Ocarina of Time captured our heart containers with a grappling hook 25 years ago and never let go.

It’s time to bust out your old ocarina that you bought to impress your friends and relearn Zelda’s Lullaby today.

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